När globala krav möter lokal verklighet : En studie av hur dotterbolag hanterar hållbarhetsrapportering och styrning i koncernstrukturer

Sammanfattning

The purpose of this study is to examine how a subsidiary within a corporate group adapts to increased requirements for sustainability reporting and how this adaption is shaped by the interplay between the parent company’s governance and the local environment. A qualitative case study was conducted at Heidelberg Materials Cement in Slite. Data was collected through semi-structured interviews and document analysis of sustainability reports and news articles from 2016–2026. The study utilizes institutional theory (duality, isomorphism and decoupling), legitimacy theory (pragmatic, moral and cognitive) and an integration perspective. The findings show that requirements are filtered through the parent company’s internal control chain before reaching the subsidiary. Five interrelated handling strategies are identified: (1) filtering and interpretation, (2) pragmatic legitimacy including exchange legitimacy, (3) moral legitimacy with result, procedural and influence legitimacy, (4) cognitive legitimacy through embedded routines and (5) varying degrees of integration. These strategies range from low to full integration. The handling has dual effects: strengthening where requirements overlap with local routines and stakeholder expectations, and complicating where requirements are new, complex and dependent on external factors. The study concludes that substantial organizational change is driven not by formal weight of requirements, but by overlap with local institutional logics and existing routines. Keywords: management, manufacturing company, sustainability reporting, subsidiary, institutional duality